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7:47 pm

Wed November 20, 2013

State Senate Minority Leader Tapped For Lieutenant Governor In 2014

The Democrat who would like to be Ohio’s next Governor has chosen his running mate. Ohio Public Radio’s Jo Ingles reports.

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State Senator Eric Kearney is the state senate’s minority leader. He’s also term limited so he can’t run for re-election next year. But Kearney’s name will be on the ticket….as Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate Ed FitzGerald’s running mate. Kearney, an African American from the Cincinnati area, says he’s excited about the decision to being FitzGerald’s running mate.

Kearney – “I’m very proud of my Cincinnati roots and that’s probably a big consideration for Ed FitzGerald. Also I have experience at the Statehouse. I’ve been very honored to serve as minority leader of the Ohio Senate and I’ve been able to pass a number of bills by working with our colleagues on the other side of the aisle”

History shows from presidential elections to gubernatorial elections, there is typically a drop off, particularly among Democrats and African American voters. Does Kearney think his presence on the ticket will help inspire those voters to go to the polls? When asked that question, Kearney responds this way:

Kearney – “I’m very excited about the state of Ohio. This is an opportunity to delve into a lot of the big issues statewide and that is appealing to me. Ed FitzGerald’s energy is appealing to me. And his desire to really help the average Ohioan is something that appeals to me.

The Ohio Republican Party’s Chris Schrimpf calls Kearney’s appointment an interesting choice. Schrimpf says it will help draw a sharp contrast with his candidate, Republican Governor John Kasich.

Schrimpf - “On the one hand, you have Governor Kasich and Lt. Governor Taylor who have advocated for lower taxes and balanced an 8 billion dollar shortfall, who have helped create 160,000 private sector jobs. On the other hand, you have Ed FitzGerald’s running mate who voted against tax relief, who called it un-American, who in the past supported the disastrous Strickland budgets that helped create the job loss that we saw before Republicans took office. So I don’t think this pick is going to help FitzGerald very much and it’s going to help us create a very clear contrast between the two parties.

FitzGerald will formally announce Kearney as his running mate tomorrow.